


Gifts

by RobotCryBaby



Series: Whirlwinds [6]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Background Cygate, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Gift Giving, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24136018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobotCryBaby/pseuds/RobotCryBaby
Relationships: Rung & Whirl (Transformers)
Series: Whirlwinds [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574353
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Gifts

The whole idea of people giving a shit about him, caring about him, was still weird and new but he was getting used to it. Mostly. He finally meched up and stopped avoiding the two love birds, who were weirdly happy to have his company once again. But the weirdness was old news to Whirl by now. 

Rodimus had announced that they would be docking on a mech-friendly planet for a bit while they refuelled, which meant the crew was free to roam and explore the new world. Tailgate happily burst through the door to Swerve’s and bounced over to the table where Whirl and Cyclonus were sitting.

“Hey, you guys excited for shoreleave?!” Tailgate wiggled his way onto the seat beside Whirl and perched his elbows on the table.

“It will be a nice change. I can already see that you are excited, dear Tailgate. Do you have plans?” Cyclonus’ voice was smooth and calming, always a nice distraction from the chaos of the bar for Whirl.

“I’ve been researching the planet and already have tons of things I want to do! Of course, Cyclonus, I picked stuff for both of us so it won’t be too boring for you.” Tailgate beamed at him causing Whirl to chuckle.

“You couldn’t bore the lurch if you tried Legs. The boring-er the better probably!”

Tailgate scowled playfully at the rotary. “Well, it’s not all boring. I have lots of exciting things planned, that way you’ll have fun too!”

Whirl spluttered. “Wait, what? You want me there?” He looked down at the minibot who only continued to babble.

“Of course! It’ll be great! I’m so excited to see more of the universe! You don’t get to experience much when you’re asleep in a hole for millions of years.” Tailgate chuckled, trying to make light of his past though Whirl could still see the hurt lingering in his optics. “And what better way to experience things than in the company of my two favourite mechs!” 

Whirl stared at Tailgate incredulously still attempting to process what was going on.

“I agree. Sight-seeing is wonderful but much better when in good company.” Cyclonus smirked lovingly at Tailgate. Whirl could feel the warmth of their two fields against his own.  _ Cute.  _ But Whirl had no misgivings of where he sat in this equation. The warmth was for each other, he was merely the rotary shaped friend who they felt obligated to invite along.

Whirl chuckled and leaned back in the chair. “Well you two lovebirds have fun, you’ll have to spill the deets when you get back.”

“Whirl, we would both enjoy your company.” Cyclonus looked at him, as if trying to determine where Whirl’s head was at.  _ Hilarious, even I don’t know when my head is at. _

Whirl waved his claw dismissively. “Yeah and while that’s super sweet, I’m not allowed to step foot off this ship thanks to fragging Magnus.” Tailgate’s excitement instantly deflated.  _ Weird. Shouldn’t he be excited for a date with Cyclonus where I’m not third-wheelin? _

“Oh.” Tailgate wrung his servos together, trying to come up with a solution. “Maybe we could talk to Ultra Magnus, maybe-”   
  
“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Whirl waved his claw and stood up. “You two enjoy your date! Besides, I’ll have the whole shooting range to myself! Just bring me back a souvenir! Preferably something stabs! Or shoots! OOOH or both!” With that, Whirl made his exit from the bar and lumbered to his habsuite.

He wasn’t exactly  _ upset _ that he wasn’t allowed shoreleave, if he was being perfectly honest he agreed that it was the safer bet to have him locked up on the ship. But that didn’t stop Whirl from feeling slightly disappointed. It had been ages since he’d been able to stretch his peds and explore something other than the dull walls of the Lost Light when he wasn’t getting shot at. Once inside the sanctuary of his hab, he sat down and resumed his work on a chronopiece he had been tinkering with for a while. He hadn’t had much time to dedicate to building them, and often when he did he’d become frustrated and end up breaking anything he had built anyway. With this new free time however, Whirl wanted nothing more than to get lost in the building of his latest work.

He hadn’t realized how much time had passed until he received a soft ping on his comms from Rung. 

“Come on in, Doc.” Whirl didn’t turn to greet him, merely granted him access to his hab. “Give me a second, I almost got this piece of junk working.” Whirl continued to diligently work as Rung came to stand beside him.

Rung didn’t pretend to understand what Whirl was doing, but he understood how dexterous one needed to be when crafting chronos and he appreciated the art that they were. Whirl leaned back from the desk, studying the piece.

“Is this the piece you had told me about in our last session?” Rung asked quietly.

“Ha, no that one got used for target practice at the shooting range. Nah, just started this one, tried a simpler style. Thought maybe I’d cobble somethin together even with these pit claws.” He laughed emotionlessly. “But nah, still complete slag.” Whirl’s shoulders slumped slightly in exhaustion.

Rung grimaced. He thought that the chronopiece was beautiful and quite elaborate but also knew that Whirl would not take kindly to or believe such praises. Whirl had come a long way, slowly opening up and becoming more vulnerable with each session; Whirl’s feelings about his work (or lack thereof) was another mountain that they would work on slowly, but not today.

“Hmmm. Well, if you’re not busy, perhaps you’d like to accompany me to the surface?”

“No-can-do Eyebrows. Dad says I’m grounded.” Whirl joked as he spun around in his seat to face Rung.

“Yes, I had heard. But after a little convincing I believe he...how would you put it?  _ Removed the metal rod from his aft and let loose a little _ .” Rung chuckled which earned him a happy flutter of Whirl’s winglets. Whirl took off at break-neck speed and all but dragged Rung from his habsuite all the way onto the planet’s surface before coming to a stop.

“So, where’s our first stop, Doc?”

“Well I was hoping to wander over to the marketplace but beyond that I don’t have much planned. What would you like to do, Whirl?” Rung looked at him expectantly.

Whirl refused to meet his gaze and continued forward. “Marketplace sounds great. Let’s go.”

The two made their way towards the city centre and Whirl was pleasantly surprised that not only was this a mech-friendly planet but also accommodated beings of their size, so no awkward ducking was needed. Rung was chatting about the history of the planet or something equally boring, Whirl was only half paying attention. Not because Whirl didn’t appreciate the company, no, he was on the lookout for two bots in particular. Logically, he knew that Tailgate and Cyclonus would be miles away from the city exploring a crystal cave deposit that Cyclonus had expressed interest in, but it didn’t make Whirl any less paranoid. It’s not that he didn’t want to see his friends, but he knew that if they ran into him, they’d undoubtedly invite him along, and they didn’t need that. They dealt with him enough as it was, he didn’t want to ruin their vacation too.

Rung had gone quiet, studying his walking partner who was deep in thought with his head on a swivel. “Whirl, is everything alright?”

“Huh.” Whirl was startled from his thoughts and looked into the quizzical gaze of Rung. “Uh, yeah. Just lookin around. Ya know.” He shrugged trying to play it off but suspected that Rung didn’t buy it.

“Well, as I was saying there is supposed to be an interesting botanical garden that contains specimens from all over the galaxy on the other side of the city. Tailgate had mentioned that he and Cyclonus would be visiting it later in the day, perhaps we could join them? Would you like that?” 

Whirl stopped and stared down at Rung with his big, singular optic.  _ Of course. _ Whirl was tired. All of this  _ “letting people care about you” _ business was exhausting. He was tired of playing along. He appreciated it and knew that the bots, his friends, were coming from a good place but all this pity would drown a mech of his size unless he put an end to it.

“Look.” Whirl sighed. “I know you’re stuck on babysitter duty. And I know it was probably your dumb idea along with Tailgate to convince Magnus to let me out with a chaperone. And I appreciate it, I really do. But enough is enough. I don’t want to ruin other mechs’ vacations. I mean I know I’m sorta ruinin yours, but since it was your idea so you dug your own grave, but at least you’re getting paid to deal with me. Let’s just go to the market, look around, then you can take me back to the ship and go enjoy the rest of your day.”

Rung looked up at him sadly. “I am not your chaperone, Whirl. I am your friend and would like to spend time with you.”

“So if I walked away right now and caused a little bit of chaos, you’re telling me that Magnus wouldn’t have your aft for not watching me?” Whirl accused. He knew it was unfair of him, he saw the hurt and frustration flash in Rung’s optics. But Whirl felt like he needed to remind Rung just what kind of mech he really was, cause obviously Rung and a few others had forgotten.

“You’re right. But that doesn’t mean that I also don’t want to spend time with you. I consider you a friend.” He smiled up at Whirl with a soft, near pleading expression.

Whirl knew when to give in.  _ Let people care about you Whirl. _ Rung’s own words echoed in his mind.  _ Fine. _

“Alright. Quit twistin my arm why don’t ya!” Whirl chuckled. “And for the record, I like spending time with you too, ya know.” He mumbled just quiet enough for Rung to pick it up on his audials, causing a bright smile to grace his faceplate.

Rung seemed satisfied by this and continued walking, though Whirl could tell he still had more to say. As they neared the edge of the market, and the sounds of the city life pierced the silence, Whirl spoke. “The two lovebirds need a date where they don’t have to look at my ugly mug. They deserve to spend some time together...alone...away from me.”

“Whirl, I-” Rung tried to speak up but Whirl cut him off quickly.

“But, I appreciate the effort the two went for me. Wouldn’t mind getting ‘em something as a thank you. That’s what friends do right? Get each other gifts and stuff?” Rung nodded. “Cool, well would you mind helpin me pick somethin out. I got some ideas but I’ve been told not all my ideas are  _ safe  _ or  _ family friendly _ .” Whirl laughed which caused Rung to chuckle in agreement.

“I’m sure we can find something. Where should we start?”

_______________________

It was hours later when Whirl and Rung returned to the ship, a few bags in hand containing small gifts and a few personal treats they each had picked out themselves. After a brief goodbye, Whirl made his way to his habsuite and quickly shut the door behind him, dumping the contents of his trip to the surface on his berth.

He had bought himself a small magnet he could use to help pick up any pieces he dropped while working on his chronos, a neon yellow curly straw and some new cans of spray paint. After putting the new items away he produced the gifts Rung had helped him pick out.

A small potted cactus-like plant, and an antique sharpening stone for a sword.

Whirl was pretty pleased with himself. He knew what sort of things he had wanted to get them, knew what Tailgate and Cyclonus liked. Rung was just there to help translate his weird ideas into actual tangible things. And thank goodness for Rung too or Whirl might’ve walked away with an entire tree as he had first attempted to do.

He placed the two gifts on his work table, deciding to slip the items into the lovebirds’ habsuite before they returned from shore leave, and produced a small box from his subspace. This gift he was particularly proud of. He’d thought of it and found it all on his own without any of Rung’s guidance. Well, he couldn’t exactly ask Rung for advice anyway considering the gift was for the old therapist. It was a model kit of an old type starship. The kit itself wasn’t anything spectacular or extraordinary, but Whirl knew that Rung adored model ships. He would always gush about the different kinds, the educational purposes of the models, but mostly the act of building them. Whirl cherished the glazed look Rung would get when he talked about model building, the contentment and peace it brought him. Whirl used to feel the same about chronosmithing. He still does, if he’s honest, it’s just more frustrating now. It was actually Rung’s enthusiasm that convinced Whirl to try picking up the craft again.

Whirl hoped that this little gift was okay for Rung. There’s no way he could ever do anything to make up for all that Rung had done for him, but slaggit he’d try his best.

He dropped Tailgate and Cyclonus’ gifts off first, knowing that they’d be returning soon, and the last thing he’d want is to face them and deal with all that mushy-feelings slag. He then made his way over to Rung’s office. It was the doctor’s off-day so Whirl could easily slip in, drop off the package, and run back to his hab before anyone discovered him.

After making sure the coast was clear, Whirl hacked into the door code and slipped inside.  _ It wasn’t breaking and entering if you were only breaking and/or entering to leave a friendly gift, right? _

Just as Whirl was about to set his very thoughtful gift onto the desk in the corner of the office, he spotted a small box tucked off into the corner. Whirl leaned down to get a closer look and found an eerily similar looking design on the packaging. He grabbed it and set it down beside his new gift for Rung.

_ Identical. They’re identical. He already has this one. _ Whirl’s spark sank into a pit.  _ Of course he already has this one. What were you thinking.  _ He berated himself.  _ Fragging idiot, can’t even buy a gift right. _

“Whirl?” The lights flicked on revealing Rung staring at him from the open doorway.

Whirl panicked and immediately swept the new box of the desk, sending it slamming into the far wall.  _ Slag. _

Rung took a tentative few steps towards the rotary. “Whirl, is everything alright?” Whirl looked at Rung as though he were caught stealing or desecrating corpses again. 

“Course!” Whirl chuckled awkwardly, trying to look for an escape. “Just...tryin to find all those juicy little notes you keep on your other patients! Never know when you’re gonna need more blackmail material. Couldn’t find anything so imma head out and all that, alright, later!” Whirl tried to slip past the minibot but Rung stood his ground.

“Whirl…” Rung placed a gentle servo on Whirl’s wrist.

“Yeahhhh?” Whirl responded, acting like a toddler who got caught with icing on their face trying to convince their carrier they didn’t, in fact, eat any goodies. Rung patted his wrist and continued over to the now dented box, sitting crookedly against the wall.

Whirl was frozen in place. This is exactly the thing he had hoped to avoid by sneaking in here.  _ Slag. Slag. Come on, think of something. _

“Is this...for me?” Rung stared at the smooshed box in his hands as if it were some priceless object of the Primes. He looked up and met Whirl’s optic, surprise and an overwhelming warmth flooded his field.

“Uh, no. I was, tryin to steal it. But ya caught me, oh well guess I better-” Whirl stammered out excuses, hoping to maintain a shred of his dignity.  _ Did he have any to begin with? Probably not. _

“Well, I would believe you, however,” Rung paused, his gaze pinning Whirl in his place, “my old one was completely incinerated when I...when my office was destroyed.” Rung’s optics glazed over as the traumatic memory replayed in his mind. Whirl shivered at its mention as well. 

Whirl restarted his vocalizer and absentmindedly rubbed his claws along his arm. “Ah, well, ya know. I thought, since you’ve done so much for me, and you're like, my friend, I wanted to get you a model thingy cause I know how much you like ‘em. But you already had this one so I kinda fragged it up and-”

“Thank you.” Whirl’s ramblings were cut off by those words. Two simple words said with such sincerity. 

Unlike when tension and Whirl were usually involved, instead of exploding into chaos the tension melted into a warm feeling in his spark. _Weird._ _But, good weird._

“Anytime...Rung.” Whirl’s optic curved into a smile as Rung hugged the damaged box closer to his chest-plate. “Maybe I’ll pop by sometime and see how the build goes?”

“Of course, Whirl. I’d actually like that very much.” Rung smiled broader, if that was even possible at this point.

“See ya around, Eyebrows.” Whirl chuckled and left the office with a final wave of his claw.


End file.
